Tomasz Fraszczyk Reform of the Latvian public media in the perspective of developing modern content distribution technologies, evolution of user needs and complicated Latvia–Russia relations KEY WORDS Latvia, public media, media policy, new media, Russia ABSTRACT The article presents an outline of the evolution of the Latvian audiovisual media market (after 1988), the influence of the 2009 market crash on media entities (including those public) and key discussion topics and decisions made as a result of the crisis by Latvian institutions responsible for the media landscape. Detailed attention will be given to the new law on electronic mass media (in force from 2011) and those elements of the public media system reform project (announced in 2013), that are an outcome of the dynamic development of new content distribution technologies and changing user needs and habits, especially in younger age groups. The final part of the work will concern the complicated Latvia–Russia relations and the multi-aspect contribution of mass media in their shaping. The conclusion indicates a broad scope of discussion and analytical works in Latvia concerning the reform of public media, which suggests it will not be abandoned in the following years. In the beginning of January 2013, the Latvian National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPL Padome) published a new strategy for the public radio (LR) and television (LTV). It aims to rebuild the position of the public service broadcasters (LSM) after the severe crisis of 2009–2010, which had seriously damaged not only the finances but also the market position of these institutions. In the youngest age groups, these shares are the smallest by far and do not exceed 20 % for the television and 8 % for the radio1. Faced with the above, what seems to be most unfavourable from the viewpoint of Latvian raison d’état is the power of the market, which grew even stronger during the crisis of Russian-speaking media (including the First Baltic Channel, Rus. Pervyj Baltijskij Kanal – PBK). Their objectives include, among other things, supporting numerous institutions of the Russian Federation in various “defamation campaigns against Latvia” and its authorities, as it was worded in the 2011 report of the Constitution Protection Bureau (SAB LR), prepared for the government in Riga2. 1 Data for the period of Aug–Oct 2012. Compare: Jauna Latvijas sabiedriskā elektroniskā medija izveides koncepcijas detalizācija, collective work, NEPL Padome Latvijas Republikas 2013, p. 70–72. 2 Compare: the passage Propaganda campaigns against Latvia – examples of activities by the Russian TV broadcasting company TV Centre, Foundation Historical Memory (Istoricheskaya Pamyat) and news agency The new strategy, published 8 January 2013 by NEPLP, is meant to restore the public service media supervised by the institutions of the Latvian state to a significant place in the national media landscape, so that they may successfully compete with Russian-speaking stations, such as that peculiar battle for the image of the country, waged both on the air and in online media. Reaching the young audience with the message – or, more broadly, to the recipient of content delivered by electronic media through many distribution channels – is one of the main, far-reaching goals of the reform being introduced. This paper will outline the evolution of the Latvian audiovisual media market (after 1988), the impact the economic meltdown of 2009 had on media operators, as well as the main themes of the discussion and the decisions which were made by the Latvian institutions responsible for the media order in response to the crisis. A particular attention will be paid to the new Electronic Mass Media Law and these components of the project of reforms which ensue from the dynamic development of modern technologies of content distribution and the changing needs and habits of recipients, especially from the younger age groups. The latter part of the text will handle the difficult and complex subject of Latvian–Russian relations and the multi-faceted participation of mass media in shaping them. The Outline of the evolution of media in the Republic of Latvia (1988–2009) From the very beginning, the process of first shaping and then evolution of the public service media system in Latvia was characterized by the occurrence of sudden phenomena and major changes resulting from them. The process in question is traditionally divided into three principal stages: Transformation – from the Communist model of mass media focused on propaganda to the model of media strongly involved in the Latvian Awakening, or the national uprising which aimed at the then Soviet republic regaining independence it lost after 1939. An attempt to understand what public service media should be in a democratic state, which led to an effort to exclude this institution from direct participation in the ongoing socio-political processes and make it a platform for public debate, as broad as possible, endowed with a particular mission and objectives. Regnum, in: Annual Report 2011, collective work, Latvijas Republikas Satversmes Aizsardzibas Birojs 2012, http://www.sab.gov.lv/index.php?lang=en&page=16&sid=&nid=285 [accessed: 19 Jan 2013]. Commercialization of the audiovisual media market, particularly television, which was also observed in other European countries3. The beginning of the last of the phases mentioned above dates back to 1995 when, following several years of discussion and faced with the constantly deteriorating position of public service media, the first Latvian law was passed, which globally defined the rules governing the operation of electronic media4. The passing of this law and creation of a state agency to supervise the radio and TV market did not end the discussion about the place and role of the public service media in the Latvian media system, still very young in comparison to the Western countries and lacking much practical experience which might have facilitated the application of the new law or protected the operators from possible interference by the political classes5. Due to the dynamic growth of the sector of commercial audiovisual media and frequent cues that politicians tried to informally influence the operation of radio and television, just a few years after it was passed, the abovementioned law began to be seen as unfit to the quickly changing market environment and the practical relations which formed between the media and the politics. In 2003, the NRTC began work on drafting new solutions in media law, some of these proposals were even presented to the Latvian Saeima (parliament), yet none of them managed to be carried through the whole legislative process until 2009. Moreover, it is pointed out that unlike the wide-ranging discussions held in the first half of the 1990s about the situation of electronic broadcasters, paradoxically, the attempts at reform initiated in 2003 did not enjoy too much attention of the media themselves; therefore, the public opinion was not invited to take an active part in the debate6. The economic collapse of 2009 and the media market in Latvia This situation of long and futile discussion underwent a fundamental change in 2009. There was a sudden collapse of Latvian economy: the GNP dropped by 17.7 % (from one year to the next), and the unemployment rate soared from 7.5 % at the end of 2008 to 16.9 % at the end of 20097. These data were immediately reflected in the condition of the national advertising 3 Cf. I. Brikše, Public service broadcasting in Latvia: Old images, new user needs and market pressure, “Central European Journal of Communication” 1 (2010), p. 71 ff. 4 The Radio and Television Law. More on this document in: I. Brikše, Public service broadcasting in Latvia…, op. cit., p. 72. 5 More about the main points on which these considerations were focused in: I. Brikše, Public service broadcasting in Latvia…, op. cit., p. 73; and A. Rožukalne, Media ownership trends in Latvia: political parallelism and concentration, “Media Transformations” 2012, Vol. 6, p. 113–114. 6 Cf. I. Brikše, Public service broadcasting in Latvia…, op. cit., p. 74. 7 From: http://www.img.org [accessed: 11 Mar 2013]. market and, consequently, the media institutions, whose budgets were crucially dependent on the orders of advertisers8. Table 1. Advertising revenues by individual media types during the economic collapse in Latvia9 Sector of the media market Change between 2008 and 2009 daily newspapers – 57 % magazines – 63 % television – 40 % radio – 39 % Internet – 32 % The economic problems of Latvia had a twofold effect on the position of Latvian public sector broadcasters. First, the shock reform of public finances, prescribed by Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis’ government, which assumed reduction of a range of budget expenditures, among others, did not spare the state subsidies for radio and television. Second, these institutions were hurt badly by the meltdown of the advertising market, as roughly 30– 40 % of total revenue of the LR and LTV was derived from commercial revenues10. It was the real danger of losing financial liquidity which spurred the Latvian decision-makers to undertake more specific action aimed at adapting the 1995 statute to an entirely different environment and conditions in which the Latvian audiovisual broadcasters had to operate. In October 2009, the Saeima set up a working group comprised of experts, scientists, and people with every-day experience in media. The report they prepared contained five key reform proposals, which could effectively meet the challenges posed to the Latvian electronic broadcasters by both the dynamically changing economic situation in the country and the global trends, like the competition from the new online media and the evolution of preferences of (especially young) recipients. In the parliamentary debate, which began at the beginning of 2010, the parliamentary clubs rejected the majority of expert proposals, although some of the regulations postulated by the working group were preserved in the final text of the media law11.